Mesh for horizontal masonry joints reinforcement

ABSTRACT

A masonry reinforcement system includes a wall structure formed from stonework including multiple stacked rows of at least one of blocks and bricks. A reinforcement mesh is disposed between a pair of the stacked rows. The reinforcement mesh includes a pair of longitudinal rails formed from rigidified fiber. A plurality of cross bars extend between and are connected to the pair of longitudinal bars, the plurality of cross bars being formed from rigidified fiber.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims the benefit and priority of U.S. Provisional Application No. 63/083,989, filed Sep. 27, 2020. The entire disclosure of the above application is incorporated herein by reference.

FIELD

The present disclosure relates to a mesh for horizontal masonry joint reinforcement.

BACKGROUND

This section provides background information related to the present disclosure which is not necessarily prior art.

Masonry walls are widely used for residential and commercial construction. Although masonry walls are capable of supporting heavy structures, a vulnerability of a masonry wall is its inability to resist horizontal forces. Accordingly, it is desirable to provide improved masonry joint reinforcement.

SUMMARY

This section provides a general summary of the disclosure, and is not a comprehensive disclosure of its full scope or all of its features.

A masonry reinforcement system includes a wall structure formed from stonework including multiple stacked rows of at least one of blocks and bricks. A reinforcement mesh is disposed between a pair of the stacked rows. The reinforcement mesh includes a pair of longitudinal rails formed from rigidified fiber. A plurality of cross bars extend between and are connected to the pair of longitudinal bars, the plurality of cross bars being formed from rigidified fiber. The reinforcement mesh made from rigidified fiber aids in resisting horizontal forces applied to the masonry wall structure. The reinforcement mesh made from rigidified fiber resists corrosion, is lighter in weight and is stronger compared to existing metal reinforcements.

Further areas of applicability will become apparent from the description provided herein. The description and specific examples in this summary are intended for purposes of illustration only and are not intended to limit the scope of the present disclosure.

DRAWINGS

The drawings described herein are for illustrative purposes only of selected embodiments and not all possible implementations, and are not intended to limit the scope of the present disclosure.

FIG. 1 is a plan view of a reinforcement mesh according to the principles of the present disclosure;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a straight masonry wall structure with the reinforcement mesh according to the principles of the present disclosure;

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of an intersecting masonry wall structure with the reinforcement mesh according to the principles of the present disclosure;

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a corner masonry wall structure with the reinforcement mesh according to the principles of the present disclosure;

FIG. 5 is a plan view of a truss-type reinforcement mesh according to the principles of the present disclosure;

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of a straight masonry wall structure with the truss-type reinforcement mesh according to the principles of the present disclosure;

FIG. 7 is a perspective view of an intersecting masonry wall structure with the truss-type reinforcement mesh according to the principles of the present disclosure;

FIG. 8 is a perspective view of a corner masonry wall structure with the truss-type reinforcement mesh according to the principles of the present disclosure;

FIG. 9 is a schematic view of a machine for forming the reinforcement mesh according to the principles of the present disclosure; and

FIG. 10 is a schematic illustration of a process of placing the bundle in an exemplary mesh configuration.

Corresponding reference numerals indicate corresponding parts throughout the several views of the drawings.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Example embodiments will now be described more fully with reference to the accompanying drawings.

With reference to FIG. 1, a masonry reinforcement mesh 10 is shown formed from fiber glass re-bars or basalt fiber re-bars (GFRP; BFRP) or other know fibers such as carbon fibers and aramid fibers. The reinforcement mesh 10 is designed for preventing against formation of cracks in a masonry wall 12 caused by temperature and moisture expansion or shrinkage as well as for increasing a wall's resistance to horizontal and vertical loads. The reinforcement mesh 10 according to a first embodiment as shown in FIGS. 1-4 can include a ladder-type mesh including a pair of spaced longitudinal bars 14 and a plurality of cross bars 16 connected between the longitudinal bars 14. In an alternative embodiment of the reinforcement mesh 110 as shown in FIGS. 5-8, a truss-type mesh includes two longitudinal bars 114 connected with a continuously zig-zagging diagonal bar 116.

As shown in FIGS. 2 and 6, the reinforcement mesh 10, 110 can be layered between the layers of a straight masonry wall 12. As shown in FIGS. 3 and 7 the reinforcement mesh 10, 110 can be layered between the layers of intersecting masonry walls 12, with the reinforcement mesh overlapping where the walls intersect. As shown in FIGS. 4 and 8, the reinforcement mesh 10, 110 can be layered between the layers of a corner section of a masonry wall 12, as shown.

The longitudinal bars 14, 114 and the cross bars and diagonal bars 16, 116 can be manufactured from glass, basalt or carbon fibers placed in a longitudinal direction and bound together with a polymer matrix from thermoplastic or thermoset resin. The bars 14, 114; 16, 116 can be of periodical profile or have a sand coating.

The reinforcement mesh 10, 110 made from fiber has a variety of advantages over steel mesh. The reinforcement mesh 10, 110 made from fiber is 2.5 times stronger in tension, has no corrosion, has high alkali resistance, has a service life of at least 100 years; is significantly lighter in weight and accordingly is more capable of a fast and easy installation.

The reinforcement mesh 10, 110 can be used in walls made from hollow blocks, multi-wythe walls with cavity spaces or unfilled collar joints. The mesh allows the layers of the multi-wythe walls to move independently and transfer loads from the exterior masonry to interior masonry wall.

Depending on the intended application and required characteristics of the mesh 10, 110, it can be manufactured using the following methods.

In a first method, the first step is to produce rigidified fiber rods 14, 16 that are cut to the required lengths. In the second stage, the cross rods 16 are fed in a certain sequence to the mesh production line and overlapped with the longitudinal rods 14, where they are stacked on top of each other at a given sequence, forming the desired mesh configuration. A connection material such as a melt of a polymer material or a bitumen-based composition, an adhesive or a mechanical connector is supplied at every intersection of the longitudinal rods and the transverse rods, which makes a secure connection after curing.

The same method is applied for manufacture of the mesh with a continuous rod 116. The first step is to produce rigidified fiber rods, which will be the longitudinal rods 114 of the mesh. The diagonal continuous rod 116 is made by pultrusion using special mandrels that form a zigzag geometry of the rod. In the second stage, the diagonal continuous rod 116 is fed to the mesh production line and fixed in the desired position. The longitudinal rods 114 are placed in the specified position on a continuous diagonal rod 116. The intersections of the rods can be secured with a connecting material such as a thermoplastic polymer material or a bitumen-based composition, an adhesive or a mechanical connector. The formed connection elements provide a secure connection of the rods 114, 116.

According to another embodiment as shown in FIG. 9, the mesh structure is formed on a special machine. The composite fibers 30, 32 are reeled off the bobbins 34, 36 and fed into a bath 38, where they are soaked with a binder. Then the impregnated fibers 30, 32 are fed through tubes to a thermal unit 40 of the machine. The combined fibers 30, 32 form a bundle of a required section. The thermal unit 40 moves in accordance with preset coordinates and places the bundle into a required mesh configuration as shown in FIG. 10. After that the bundles are cured in a special chamber.

Example embodiments are provided so that this disclosure will be thorough, and will fully convey the scope to those who are skilled in the art. Numerous specific details are set forth such as examples of specific components, devices, and methods, to provide a thorough understanding of embodiments of the present disclosure. It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that specific details need not be employed, that example embodiments may be embodied in many different forms and that neither should be construed to limit the scope of the disclosure. In some example embodiments, well-known processes, well-known device structures, and well-known technologies are not described in detail.

The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particular example embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting. As used herein, the singular forms “a,” “an,” and “the” may be intended to include the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. The terms “comprises,” “comprising,” “including,” and “having,” are inclusive and therefore specify the presence of stated features, integers, steps, operations, elements, and/or components, but do not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, integers, steps, operations, elements, components, and/or groups thereof. The method steps, processes, and operations described herein are not to be construed as necessarily requiring their performance in the particular order discussed or illustrated, unless specifically identified as an order of performance. It is also to be understood that additional or alternative steps may be employed.

When an element or layer is referred to as being “on,” “engaged to,” “connected to,” or “coupled to” another element or layer, it may be directly on, engaged, connected or coupled to the other element or layer, or intervening elements or layers may be present. In contrast, when an element is referred to as being “directly on,” “directly engaged to,” “directly connected to,” or “directly coupled to” another element or layer, there may be no intervening elements or layers present. Other words used to describe the relationship between elements should be interpreted in a like fashion (e.g., “between” versus “directly between,” “adjacent” versus “directly adjacent,” etc.). As used herein, the term “and/or” includes any and all combinations of one or more of the associated listed items. 

What is claimed is:
 1. A masonry reinforcement system, comprising: a wall structure formed from stonework including multiple stacked rows of at least one of blocks and bricks; a reinforcement mesh disposed between a pair of stacked rows, the reinforcement mesh including a pair of longitudinal rails formed from rigidified fiber; and a plurality of cross bars extending between and connected to the pair of longitudinal bars, the plurality of cross bars being formed from rigidified fiber.
 2. The masonry reinforcement system according to claim 1, wherein the plurality of cross bars are perpendicular to the pair of longitudinal bars.
 3. The masonry reinforcement system according to claim 1, wherein the plurality of cross bars are at an acute angle relative to the pair of longitudinal bars.
 4. The masonry reinforcement system according to claim 1, wherein the rigidified fiber includes at least one of glass fibers, basalt fibers, carbon fibers, and aramid fibers.
 5. The masonry reinforcement system according to claim 1, wherein the plurality of cross bars are connected to the pair of longitudinal bars by a connection material.
 6. The masonry reinforcement system according to claim 5, wherein the connection material is one of a thermoplastic polymer material, a bitumen-based composition, an adhesive, or a mechanical connector. 